Kiss Me, Stupid (1964)

User Rating:

7.0/10   

Director:

Billy Wilder

Writers:

Anna Bonacci (play)
I.A.L. Diamond (writer)

Release Date:

25 December 1964 (Finland)

Genre:

Comedy

Plot:

A jealous piano teacher Orville Spooner sends his beautiful wife, Zelda, away for the night while he tries to sell a song to a famous nightclub singer Dino, who is stranded in town.

Plot Keywords:

Piano Teacher | Piano | Singer | Gas Station | Nevada

Cast

Dean Martin	...	Dino
Kim Novak	...	Polly the Pistol
Ray Walston	...	Orville Jeremiah Spooner
Felicia Farr	...	Zelda Spooner
Cliff Osmond	...	Barney
Barbara Pepper	...	Big Bertha
Skip Ward	...	Milkman (as James Ward)
Doro Merande	...	Mrs. Pettibone
Bobo Lewis	...	Waitress
Tom Nolan	...	Johnnie Mulligan (as Tommy Nolan)
Alice Pearce	...	Mrs. Mulligan
John Fiedler	...	Reverend Carruthers
Arlen Stuart	...	Rosalie Schultz
Howard McNear	...	Mr. Pettibone
Cliff Norton	...	Mack Gray

Runtime:

125 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Certification:

Australia:PG | Finland:K-16 | Spain:T | Sweden:15 | UK:PG | USA:Approved (original rating) | USA:GP (re-rating) (1970) | USA:PG-13 (re-rating) (1994) | West Germany:6

Filming Locations:

Aquarius Theatre - 6239 Sunset Boulevard, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Mirisch Corporation, The

Trivia:

Production began with Peter Sellers in the role of Orville. Sellers suffered a heart attack several weeks into production, so filming had to start over with Ray Walston in the role (after Tony Randall, Bob Hope, Danny Kaye and Tom Ewell were all considered).

Quotes:

Polly the Pistol: Get out of here, I've got a job to do.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Spin City: Kiss Me, Stupid (#1.16)" (1997)

Soundtrack:

'S Wonderful

Weak Wilder movie doesn't improve with time

It is one thing to have to sit through Ray Walston's embarrassing overacting. Ably assisted by his sidekick Cliff Osmond who is nearly as bad. But it is all so tedious. There are fewer good jokes in this film than any other Wilder comedy I can think of. Only the women save it, and the second half is a great improvement on the first. Kim Novak is an actress of limited range but she is perfect for this role and is very moving. Dean Martin is his genial self, his character of Dino cruising through the plot largely unaware of the mayhem and idiocy going on around him. Lucky old Dean, we should have been so lucky. I read that the film upset the usual suspects in the moral outrage business. That alone is enough to recommend it, maybe I should take another look.